For the first time, a European court has taken direct aim at the invisible hand that shapes what billions of people see online. In the Netherlands, users of Facebook and Instagram will be offered an option to view posts in strict chronological order. The decision marks one of the first major tests of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and signals a growing appetite to curb the influence of automated recommendation engines across the continent. The Amsterdam District Court ruled that Meta must give users a non-algorithmic, “clean feed” option within its platforms. Failure to comply could result in daily penalties ranging from €100,000 to as much as €5 million ($116,000 to $5.8 million)—chump change for Meta. Social media…